John Edwards not only made a sex tape with his lover, Rielle Hunter, but he slept with her in the bed he shared with his wife after taking his kids to school, writes Young, a former Edwards aide.

The former senator made every effort to keep his affair with campaign videographer Hunter a secret, at one point asking his lover to get an abortion.

Young claims in the book that he didn't want to divorce his wife, Elizabeth, "because he still loved Elizabeth in certain ways. And he believed his wife was more popular with many voters than he was." But Edwards vowed to marry Hunter one day on a New York rooftop in New York along with an appearance by the Dave Matthews Band.

Young — who once claimed Hunter's child was his — says Edwards was "out of control," inviting his lover to sleep in his bed after the former presidential candidate began his presidential campaign in New Orleans.

In the book, Young claims that Hunter — who apparently called Edwards "love lips" told him she felt "just like his first lady."

And so on.

What's the point of this post? Politicians are more than the sum of their positions. I knew a lot of people who loved Edwards' populist positions, and so he was their choice. I never hated him or anything, and I always thought, well, if a guy with that liberal a platform can get elected I guess it's okay by me.

But I always thought there was something shady about the guy. The way he voted for the Iraq war (and gave a disgusting speech in support of it, some of which you can watch here) and then turned around so unctuously in 2007 and all of a sudden started sounding like Gandhi really repelled me.

Of their available talent at the time, the Democrats still made the best bet, whatever happens. This is a longer conversation w/r/t Hillary, and one we may have sometime.